Espeo Software

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The feedback from our own engineers was that Espeo Software's team was very flexible in adapting to existing software development methodologies. This was important for the team they were working with. Espeo Software also had great technical expertise, which allowed them to become involved quickly without too much overhead. They were committed to what they promised and delivered on that.

I was not involved with the work on a low level, but I'm sure that any challenges they came across were solved in a collaborative way. Espeo Software was part of a 20-person team, so there was a lot of collaboration between them and the rest of our resources.

How did Espeo Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We have an on-site engineering manager in Poland. We also have a project manager in charge of the work in terms of releases and scope. We also have a US-based product manager who is in charge of translating business requirements into technical stories which are added to our JIRA backlog. Based on the feedback they received, Espeo Software integrated well into our process.

We started the engagement completely on-site, with Espeo Software's engineers working with ours from Monday to Friday. After a two-month period, we started letting them work off-site for two days a week. In the end, Espeo Software's team only came to our office for review meetings, planning, and retrospectives for one day a week. The communication was constant, regardless of Espeo Software's location.

What distinguishes Espeo Software from other providers?

The good technical expertise on Espeo Software's team is the first thing I'd highlight. They adapted to our business and development models quickly. "Local" is also a keyword.

Is there anything Espeo Software could have improved or done differently?

There's always room for improvement. Espeo Software could have more diversity in terms of projects, but this will come as they grow their team. 

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I'm very satisfied with Espeo. They gave us updated code every week as we requested to get ready for our closed beta that we were going to conduct.

What did you find most impressive about Espeo Software?

They are always available. I found it valuable to talk directly to the team. They reviewed the documents and asked questions so that they understood the requirements before they started working on a feature. That cut down on the revisions that needed to be made.

Are there any areas Espeo Software could improve?

The deadline was set for 7 weeks, and it took double that to finish the project. They were helpful in remedying that difference in terms of cost. They could offer more services to United States-based customers. I think that would be beneficial to them and very helpful to U.S.-based customers. Finding U.S.-based web development companies at an affordable rate with professional quality is hard to find.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Espeo Software?

Sign Dominik [Zyskowski, software product manager and senior consultant at Espeo Software] on to work on your project. He worked with us nonstop and is probably the most passionate person there who was dedicated to working with us. He was passionate and provided new features, some that we didn't even think about. Look at what they offer and make sure they're right for you. Something that caught us off-guard was that they're based in Poland, so they work different hours than we do. A U.S. company will need to work on Poland time if they want to communicate with the team.

Espeo was responsible for execution of the whole project. This project involved the entire Scrum team for 14 months. Espeo Software did a good job, and we knew exactly what to expect. They worked together well under pressure and delivered in the face of a really tight deadline. They really took their job seriously and treated customers with respect. Their English is great, and the communication was fluent through the project.

I was able to collaborate with them efficiently, which might not always be straightforward when working with other nearshore companies. I liked the fact that they respond very quickly to any questions or concerns I had. When I send a request or a task, I see the progress and I know it will be done within the time period that I wanted. For me, this is very important. Overall, reachability of the Espeo team was constantly on a good level.

Espeo was one of the top-performing industry partners in the project consortium. The company also received great feedback from independent external reviewers who assessed the quality of the system provided as a result of the work managed by Espeo.

The orchestration layer was successfully implemented for two different use cases and it proved its functionality and high reliability. Espeo Software not only provided great technical skills, but also was able to coordinate the work of several international partners in this long-running software development project. They managed the project very well, were responsive, and displayed a cooperative attitude to help other partners solve technical issues in other parts of the system.